SWAT officer shot in the face breaking into window during no-knock raid

KILLEEN, TX — A police officer suffered fatal injuries while performing a pre-dawn no-knock raid on a local residence to search for drugs. Several officers were shot by a resident as they tried to enter an apartment through a ground-level window under the cover of darkness.

Det. Charles Dinwiddie

At approximately 5:30 a.m. on May 9th, the Killeen Police Department sent its SWAT team to execute a surprise raid on a middle-aged couple because they allegedly possessed substances without government permission.

Eighteen-year veteran Detective Charles “Chuck” Dinwiddie and several other SWAT agents snuck up to a window and tried to breach it to gain entry. The commotion caused one of residents to open fire upon the unidentified intruders, and Dinwiddie was struck in the face. Three others were shot; 2 were shot in the armor and 1 was shot in the thigh.

On Friday May 9, 2014, just after 5:30am, members of the Killeen Police Department Tactical Response Unit and the Bell Organized Crime Unit were attempting to serve a narcotics search warrant. The TRU was beginning to breach the window when the 49 year old male inside, opened fire striking four officers.

Marvin Louis Guy, age 50, was arrested and held in the Killeen City Jail on a $3 million bond. His charges include 1 count of capital murder, and 3 counts of attempted capital murder.

It is unclear how Mr. Guy could have reasonably made the differentiation, with a split-second’s notice, between police officers and criminal home invaders breaking into his window.

Marvin Lewis Guy has been charged with capital murder and 3 counts of attempted capital murder.

Police spent 12 hours combing the house for evidence of drugs. No drugs were listed on the evidence sheet. They did seize a laptop, a safe, a pistol, and a glass pipe, according to documents obtained by KWTX.

The warrant was drafted by the Bell County Organized Crime Unit and signed by Judge Mark Kimball, who authorized the “no-knock” entry.

Officer Dinwiddie left behind two children and a devastated community. He was said to have once recovered a couple’s stolen wedding rings. Yet the cause that he laid down his life for was to stop people from getting high. That should give pause to even the most hardened supporters of the War on Drugs.

Is it worth risking one’s life to take narcotics out of the hands of eager users? Is this a cause that decent people can continue to support in light of all the innocents killed in the process? Furthermore, are these no-knock raids, which pit police officers against drowsy citizens in the most dangerous manner possible, a responsible tactic of law enforcement?

If people truly value the lives of police officers, they will stop carelessly throwing their lives away by sending them on misguided missions using irresponsible tactics. There is no reason Officer Dinwiddie had to die, because there was no reason for police to show up at that home in the first place.

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FOLLOW-UP: District Attorney Henry Garza announced that he will seek the death penalty in the case against Marvin Lewis Guy.